Religious Freedom Key To American Experiment SaysCBU Prof

Religious freedom key to American experiment says CBU Prof

(RIVERSIDE, Oct. 5, 2012)--Religious arguments should not be barred from current political discussions, said
Jim Bishop, CBU associate professor of criminal justice and business law.

Bishop made his remarks during an annual Constitution Day event on the campus of
California Baptist University Sept. 27.

"If morality is necessary for democracy, then religious freedom, must, in fact, be
the bedrock for the American experiment," Bishop said.

Bishop's speech centered on the importance of America's founding documents and the
government's "separation of church and state," a phrase not found in the documents,
Bishop said.

"The phrase ‘separation of church and state' is not in the Constitution," Bishop
said. "It actually came from a phrase in a letter that referred to a figurative wall
between religion and control by the federal government."

Bishop framed his talk around current political debates regarding issues such as
Obamacare. Religious institutions have objected to provisions included in the health
care act, such as access to abortion, on the basis of separation of church and state.

"The Affordable Health Care Act of 2010 or Obamacare demonstrates the broad reach
of federal power today," Bishop said. "In its adoption, the United States is following
the European model of government at the very moment in history that the European model
itself appears to be crumbling."